Caffeine is addictive, though its downside is negligible compared to those of hard drugs like cocaine and heroin. Light and moderate coffee drinking can lift one's mood, sharpen thinking, and decrease fatigue. Excessive coffee drinking can induce nervousness and produce withdrawal symptoms, including lethargy and depression.
Which has more caffeine, tea or coffee?
A pound of tea - on the average - has twice the caffeine of a pound of roasted coffee. However, since that weight of tea typically yields about 160 cups, whereas the pound of coffee brews about 40 cups, the net result is that the cup of teas has roughly half the caffeine of a cup of coffee.
The exact amount of caffeine in coffee or tea can vary appreciably according to such factors as the bean or leaf type, grind or leaf size, and brewing time and temperature. Parents who forbid their young children to drink coffee should be aware that a 12-ounce bottle of a typical cola has approximately one-quarter the caffeine of an average cup of coffee - and many times more of it than found in a cup of decaffeinated coffee.
** Making Coffee **
